Hi
Protecting whales is important because many species were hunted down to
very low levels, some to the brink of extinction. Nowadays some of these
whales are coming back (e.g. humpbacks) while others are not (e.g. North
Atlantic right whales). So it's important to protect them to give them a
chance to recover their numbers.
In terms of over-fishing (do you mean of whales?), the whaling industry
can't really be trusted not to cheat, so it's important to have strong
protection in place.
The worst type of pollution... hmm, don't know. Depends on your
perspective. Oil spills kill lots of animals. Other pollutants like PCBs
go into the animal through its food and can affect reproduction or the
immune system. But the effects of pollutants on marine mammals like
whales aren't well-studied, so we don't really understand a lot about
their impact.
Phil Clapham
-- Phillip J. Clapham, Ph.D. Large Whale Biology Program Northeast Fisheries Science Center 166 Water Street Woods Hole, MA 02543Tel (508) 495-2316 Fax (508) 495-2066
> Hello, > I have a few questions for you. Why is it important to protect > whales > and other animals from over-fishing. Also, why is it important to > protect our oceans and what is the worst type of pollution? > > From > Science Wiz
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